Yankee Stadium: A Bronx Place of Worship

Photo: Hyla Bauer / Condé Nast Traveler

Whenever a new baseball stadium opens, the surrounding chatter quickly veers to restaurant review-land, with column inches and blog posts devoted to covering the $9 microbrews on tap and the $15 pad thai created, licensed, and trademarked by the hot new celebrity chef.

That wasn't quite the case with the new Yankee Stadium, which attracted a depth of sports architectural coverage not seen since Michelangelo drew up plans for a jai alai court at St. Peter's.

This comparison to St. Peter's is no accident. In some parts, the Yankees are a religion. And the newly opened Yankee Stadium, as Condé Nast Traveler discovered during a confab at the stadium's Tommy Bahama Bar, is as much a house of worship--complete with
all its saints (Ruth, Gehrig, Mantle) and artifacts (signed balls,
battered bleacher seats) on display--as it is a ball field.

Religion aside, Yankee Stadium makes for a great day-trip.

Photo: Hyla Bauer / Condé Nast TravelerThe saints: Before games, fans can make a pilgrimage behind the fence in straightaway center field to Monument Park, with a collection of plaques and retired numbers honoring the Yankees greats.

Photo: Hyla Bauer / Condé Nast TravelerReliquary: Called a "museum inside a museum," the New York Yankees Museum houses hundreds of artifacts including signed baseballs, old stadium seats, even Thurman Munson's locker. Fans can visit the museum on game days or via a stadium tour.